The drama, released in 1994, directed by Robert Zemeckis is based on the 1986 novel of the same name written by Winston Groom. It tells the of story of several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow but good-natured and athletically prodigious man from Alabama, who witnesses, and even influences, some of the most significant events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States. The film, which is still one of the best pictures of the nineties, was awarded with three Golden Globe Awards and six Academy Awards in 1995.